AREGBESOLA AT DAILY INDEPENDENT OFFICE, SAYS NGF CRISIS SMEAR ON NIGERIA’s IMAGE You were an active participant in the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) election (Cuts in) I was there; whether I was active or not is subjective (laughs). People are already expressing fears that when 16 have become a majority instead of 19, then there is big problem ahead This is a question for all of us. Every patriotic Nigerian who values his or her freedom, that values the clear advantages of democracy, who believes in the rule of law and sanctity of the ethos of democracy, which is freedom to choose who governs you, will be concerned about events in our polity, not only in NGF. It is not only about NGF. NGF was sensational because of the calibre of people involved. How do you explain the seizure of the airplane of a governor in a democratic, civilised setting? How do you explain the refusal to allow Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s helicopter to fly? How do you explain the utterance of the commissioner of police in River State, saying that the governor is dictatorial? There are several shocking questions to which Nigerians must demand answers. How do you explain the inconclusion of Aguata state constituency election in Imo State? I won’t want to go to those that are quite ridiculous. Against the confidentiality rule of a democracy, we know that democracy thrives on the secret of the ballot but those, who voted in the NGF election, have come out to say, look nine of us voted for this man (Gov Amaechi) in addition to the 10 he has. The issue here is no longer complex. I read the statement credited to a PDP governor who said they urged him (Gov Amaechi) on because they knew they would not support him; that they knew he would loose. It was Gov Kwankwaso that made the statement. I am not mentioning anybody’s name (laughs). The arithmetic is simple. When you add 9 to 10, what do you get? Is it not 19? When you subtract 19 from 35 what do you get? Is it not 16? Let’s remove the grandstanding that a video was manipulated. Could there be another greater demonstration of the fact? We have not read any disclaimer against those who voted that said they did not vote for him (Amaechi). The All Progressives Congress (APC) governors, everybody knew where they voted. None of them was absent, so 10 plus 9 is 19 and 35 minus 19 is 16 and the one that had 16 is still saying I am older than you as if it is age that we are projecting. It is sad that aberration has become a norm in Nigeria. It is an issue we must all stand up to resist. They are abusing Nigeria; it’s a great abuse and smear against the image of Nigeria that all Nigerians must reject in its totality. This is because if there can be that brazen attack on electoral integrity, then anything can happen. If the people all keep silent and feel unconcerned about such an issue, then we are gone as a country. Yes, some may argue that NGF is a voluntary association but the truth is that it tells us a direction that the people will want to go in all elections. And it is manifesting. A clear manifestation is what is happening in the Aguata election in Imo State, a clear manifestation is the tail wagging the dog in River State. The constitution is so clear on who the chief security officer is in a state. When a commissioner of police is saying that the governor is a dictator, then we must start to wonder what is happening. I just pray that Nigerian patriots will understand what the import of these developments is and must, in the interest of democracy, our future and the stability of our nation, start a huge campaign against impunity. We must not wait until it gets out of hand. It is time to tell ourselves that this handshake is going beyond the elbow.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 10:57:29 +0000
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